PA/USATF Elite
► RW PA’s Christie & Stevens latest RW Honors
Read more about Nick Christie’s National 20K RW Championships win …
CLICK HERE to view complete results when they become available.
for the RW 35K distance at the World Athletics Race Walk competitions held in Dundince, Slovakia April 23. She walked 2:49:29 for 35km to shatter the *American record by more than 10 minutes, finishing fifth in a competitive field, and on the way broke the *American record in the 25k and 30k plus her own Masters records in the 25k,30k, 35k. That’s SIX records!
► PA USATF Pacific Mourns the loss of Elite Distance Runner, Aggie and Cal Poly SLO Coach Mark Conover
Mark Conover: 1960-2022. This USATF Pacific elite distance runner and life-long Aggies member placed 2nd at the stormy 1987 California International Marathon, and went on to win the 1988 Olympic Marathon Trials to become a Team USA Olympian at the Seoul Olympics, and to achieve NCAA D2 Champion status. He later became a beloved and hugely successful distance coach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. His unwavering passion for running, his family and his coaching fueled his battle with a lifelong series of cancers, and he became a nationally acclaimed inspiration for those facing similar challenges.
A complete bio can be found in the Runner’s World article.
► YTF, HS, O&MTF, RW Golden West Invitational on June 4-5: Registration is OPEN with events for High School, Youth, and Open/Masters!
Be sure to check the GWI Website for all the updates.
- Registration is open!
- Events & Schedule (tentative) are posted.
- High School, youth and open/masters athletes are all invited to attend.
- CLICK HERE for direct links to lodging with special rates, courtesy of
► RR Speedy Distance Runners Sought for Wearable Tech Study
Tech Company Seeking Athletes for Wearable Tech Study!
Our PA Treasurer Jason Mawdsley is helping a local company source well-trained athletes for a study utilizing various wearable tech. For every athlete Jason refers who is accepted into the trial, the PA Foundation will earn 150 dollars!
Below are the criteria for an athlete’s acceptance into this trial:
- 22-29 years old
- Able to attend 2-3 in person sessions in Santa Clara, California
- Males with a V02 Max 50 ml/kg/min or 10km time <= 39 minutes
- Females with a VO2 Max 40 ml/kg/min or 10km time <= 52 minutes
Athletes that meet the criteria can earn up to $550 for their efforts!
If you are interested in participating, email Jason at [email protected]
► RR CIM PA Members Age Group Awardees (and a World Record!)
CIM PA Members Age Group Awardees
This list contains the USATF Pacific members who received Age Group awards at the 38th Annual CIM on Dec. 5, 2021. It begins with the overall winner, Brendan Gregg, who’s time of 2:11:21 is the third fastest CIM time, behind Jerry Lawson’s course record 2:10:27 set in 1993 and Peter Butler’s 1985 time of 2:10:56.
CLICK HERE to check the times of all the USATF Pacific CIM finishers and the updated list of all-time top 50 age-graded USATF Pacific road racing performances.
World Record for Iain Mickle!
“Longest Time Between Sub-3:00 Marathons” Read the full story – it’s fascinating!
Congratulations Everyone!
MEN
- Overall Winner Brendan Gregg 32, Davis 2:11:21 (3rd fastest CIM time)
- 50-54 3. David Mastro 50, Roseville 2:35:22 (3rd all-time 50-54)
- 55-59 1. Cliff Lentz 56, Brisbane 2:41:15 (4th all-time 55-59); 3. Mark Murray 59, Davis 2:47:49
- 60-64 1. Iain Mickle 61, Sacramento 2:53:42 (9th all-time 60-64)
- 65-69 1. Jacob Nur 66. Elk Grove 2:52:53 (course record for 65-59 by 11:05); 2. Terry Baucom 65, El Dorado Hills 3:08:27 (3rd all-time 65-59)
- 70-74 3. Chris Enfante 70, Sacramento 4:06:00
WOMEN
- 25-29 3. Joanna Reyes 29, San Jose 2:40:08
- 35-39 3. Caroline Coble 35, San Francisco 2:45:19
- 40-44 1. Jessica Smith 41, Oakland 2:46:45
- 55-59 1. Jenny Hitchings 58. Sacramento 2:46:31 (for the third time set a course record for 55-59 breaking her 2019 record of 2:50:36); 3. Beverley Anderson-Abbs 57, Sacramento 3:13:51 (10th all-time 55-59)
- 75-79 2. Barbara Rinker 75, Sacramento 5:27:33; 3. Charlyn Frazier 77, Sacramento 6:01:53
- 80+ 1. Hansi Rigney 80, Carmel, 4:51:07 (2nd all-time 80+); 2. Carolyn Slavich 80, Sacramento, 7:10:40 (9th all time 80+)
► RR CIM! PA-Connected Gregg Wins; 1st Woman sets CR!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, December 5, 2021
Contact: Kevin Liao, (408) 667-5650
Davis Native Brendan Gregg, Debut Marathoner Sara Vaughn Win ‘Comeback’ California International Marathon
9,000 Registered to Run the Full Marathon After Cancellation of 2020 Race
SACRAMENTO — In the return of the California International Marathon after the cancellation of the 2020 race due to COVID-19, Davis, Calif. native Brendan Gregg and first-time marathoner Sara Vaughn captured victories today at the 38th edition of the signature Northern California race.
Gregg, a graduate of Davis High School and Stanford University, ran the early stages of the race with a handful of competitors in the lead pack but pulled away past the half-marathon mark to finish in a personal best time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 21 seconds.
“I love coming back here,” Gregg said shortly after embracing his wife, father, and sister at the finish line. “I’ve done other marathons, but I always want to come back and do it at home at the people’s marathon.”
Gregg’s fast pace dragged along second place finisher Rory Linkletter of Canada to a personal best 2:12:52. In his marathon debut, Nick Hauger, of Flagstaff, Ariz., finished third in 2:12:59. Both men are members of the Northern Arizona Elite training group.
Vaughn, of Boulder, Colo., had been a professional track runner for over a decade before deciding to attempt her first marathon just 12 weeks ago. A mother of four and a realtor by trade, Vaughn used her prior experiences in Sacramento as positive momentum in her marathon debut.
“Sacramento has always been wonderful to me in my running career,” said Vaughn. “I made my first Team USA here at Sac State, and last time I was here, I won a race. I had to keep the streak going.”
Vaughn ran the first half of the race conservatively in 1:14:48 but turned on the jets to run nearly three minutes faster in the second half of the 26.2 mile race.
Vaughn’s finishing time of 2:26:53 is not only a CIM course record — eclipsing the prior record of 2:27:33 by Volha Mazuronak of Belarus — but is also the fifth-fastest debut marathon by an American woman.
San Diego native Molly Grabill set a six minute personal best and finished in second place in 2:29:17, and Carrie Dimoff, of Portland, Ore., was third place in 2:29:33 — the first time three women have broken 2:30 in a single CIM race.
Both race winners, Gregg and Vaughn, take home $10,000 in prize money, plus performance bonuses. Prize money is divided equally between the men’s and women’s fields, with monetary prizes going to the top 10 finishers for each.
The California International Marathon is organized by the Sacramento Running Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding ways to encourage people of all ages and abilities to run. SRA is committed to developing new, quality running events that appeal to a broad variety of runners.
“We were thrilled to be back this year with the ‘comeback edition’ of the California International Marathon,” said Scott Abbott, executive director of the Sacramento Running Association. “The SRA team knows how much this event means to the greater Sacramento community, and it was so meaningful to see community members gather along the marathon course to cheer on the thousands of runners embarking on running the marathon.”
The field of more than 9,000 marathon runners and nearly 1,000 CIM relay runners was expected to fill 7,500 hotel room nights and provide an estimated $10 million economic impact to the Sacramento region. In addition to the impact on local hotels, restaurants and retailers, the event raises more than $500,000 for local charities and community organizations through leveraged fundraising and direct giving every year.
Full race results can be found here.
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► RR PA’s Hitchings and Pilcher top US Masters Road Runners of 2021
Brian Pilcher and Jenny Hitchings were voted the Overall Male/Female US Masters Road Runners of the Year at the 2021 USATF Annual Meeting.
Hitchings won based on three very strong performances: at the Boston Marathon she ran a 2:45:32 for a jaw dropping age grade of 101.40%; a new F55-59 AR at the Buffalo Stampede 10 Mile, in a time of 1:01:15 which age grades at 99.86%; and a 1:20:24 at the Clarksburg Country Run Half Marathon for an age grade of 100.27% and a pending F55-59 AR. Age Grades greater than 100% are extremely rare and for a runner to earn two in one year is extraordinary.
Pilcher also had an exceptional year. On October 30th Brian ran the River Oaks Invitational Half Marathon in Houston. This unique event, run on a 0.95 mile loop course, had timing mats at the 8K, 10K, 12K, 15K, 10 Miles, 20K splits. In addition to breaking the M65-69 Half Marathon AR, he also broke the AR at each of the splits for a total of 7 ARs in one race! For more information on that race see PA Masters runner, Brian Pilcher, sets 7 ARs in one race!
Needless to say, Pilcher and Hitchings were also voted Road Runners of the Year in their respective divisions. In addition, Jenny was voted into the USATF Masters Hall of Fame to complete the trifecta. (Brian was voted into the USATF Masters Hall of Fame in 2017).
Tom Bernhard was named the Road Runner of the Year in the M70-74 division and Theodore Jones in the M80-84 division
I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the incredible year of running by Jacob Nur. Jacob finished 2nd to Brian in both the M65-69 division and Overall Male Road Runner of the Year voting. Jacob ran a 1:18:29 at the Clarksburg Country Run Half Marathon. This age grades to 96.28% and is a pending M65-69 AR. (Pilcher set the record at the
River Oaks Invitational Half Marathon with a time of 1:19:03.) Nur also ran a 1:01:00 at the Buffalo Stampede 10 Mile, which is worth an age grade of 93.53%.
His 1:01:00 would be the M65-69 10 Mile AR but was superseded by Brian’s 59:42 with his 10 Mile split at the River Oaks Invitational Half Marathon.
Note, Jacob ran a 35:42 at the Run to Feed the Hungry 10K on Thanksgiving. A performance too late for the 2021 rankings but will be included in the 2022 rankings. That performance age grades at 96.22% and is now a pending M65-69 AR, as it is under Pilchers ratified 10K AR of 36:35.
► PA Dave Shrock receives USATF’s Highest Accolade!
The Robert Giegangack Award
The Robert Giegengack Award was established in 1982 in recognition of the late Yale track & field coach’s half-century of “superior and outstanding contributions as an official, a coach, and an administrator in the sport and to the organization.” It is awarded annually to a person “who excels in contributing to the excellence and high standards of the sport of Athletics.” The Award is USA Track & Field’s only accolade not limited to one of the sport’s three disciplines (track & field, long distance running, and race walking), or to any one of the three principal areas of consideration (official, coach, or administrator).
From Dave:
It’s especially humbling to see the list of women and men who have preceded me whom we’ve all looked up to and have been lucky enough to have been mentored by. Previous recipients from Pacific have been George Kleeman, Dr. Harmon Brown, Horace Crow, and Stan Wright.
This award is for all of you as well, as we have all worked together through the years to create an association that is considered of the highest standard in USATF.
Mike Conley with us at our AEC viewing party on the pool deck.
